Hokitika Townchip is the local town chippery at 51 Weld Street, serving up a kick ass array of fast food kai. It's a classic fish and chip shop with a fun, local personality, known for its fresh fish varieties and easy online ordering.
Customers can order online and get a text when their order is ready, earning loyalty points along the way, or join the Frequent Fryer Loyalty Club to score a free scoop. The shop is known for offering a genuine choice of fresh fish, including Rig, Elephant fish and Blue Cod, alongside the classic fast food fry-up favourites.
With a review praising its great burgers and 'funny fish reviews on the wallpaper', Hokitika Townchip has built a loyal local following as a straightforward, no-fuss spot for fish, chips and fast food kai on the West Coast.
On Weld Street in Hokitika, Hokitika Townchip bills itself as the local town chippery, serving up what it calls a kick ass array of fast food kai. It's a classic West Coast fish and chip shop, built around fresh fish, fried favourites, and an easy online ordering system.
Ordering is straightforward: customers can order online and get a text message when their order is ready, meaning there's no need to stand around waiting. Orders placed online also earn loyalty points, and customers can join the Frequent Fryer Loyalty Club to score a free scoop along the way — a small perk for regulars who keep coming back.
What sets Hokitika Townchip apart from a standard chippery is its focus on genuine fish variety, each with its own bit of character in the way it's described. Rig — the fish behind the term 'shark 'n' taties' — is a firm, white, boneless fish from the houndshark family, related to (but a lot less intimidating than) actual sharks, prized in fish and chip shops for its low oil content. Elephant fish offers similarly firm white flesh with low oil content, related to sharks and rays, with cartilage instead of bones. And Blue Cod, native to New Zealand and common in the colder waters south of the Cook Strait and around the Chatham Islands, is highly prized for its mild, slightly sweet taste — best enjoyed battered.
Beyond the fresh fish, the menu covers all the fry-up classics: chips, fish bites, wedges, squid rings, prawns, a hot dog, chicken nuggets, and burgers including a fish burger and a giant burger for bigger appetites. There's even a Chocolate Explosion dessert for anyone with room left after the main event.
One reviewer, Caz, a self-described Frequent Fryer, called Hokitika Townchip 'the best', praising the great burgers and the 'funny fish reviews on the wallpaper' — a nod to the shop's playful personality alongside its food. It's clearly a place that takes its fish and chips seriously while not taking itself too seriously.
Hokitika Townchip is open Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday from 12pm to 7:30pm, Friday and Saturday from 12pm to 8pm, and closed on Tuesdays. Whether it's a classic serve of Blue Cod and chips, a giant burger, or a bag of prawns and squid rings to share, Hokitika Townchip offers straightforward, no-fuss fast food kai with a genuine sense of West Coast character.